To Prove Myself
by Mandy Taylor
Summary: A twelve-year-old boy named Tristan finds out that he is a demigod and is taken to Camp Half-Blood. There he finds friends, adventure, danger, and a quest. He sets out on a journey to save America, but, most importantly, to prove himself to his mother.
1. Mysterious Circumstances

Chapter 1: Mysterious Circumstances

I sighed and put my head down on my desk. Math class. Great, now I can catch up on my sleep.

The teacher started talking, so I lifted my head up in an effort to at least look like I was paying attention. Then I heard a voice off to my left say, "Hi, Tristan!"

I turned my head to see Veronica Simmons smiling and batting her eyes at me. I forced a smile and said in a falsely cheery voice, "Hey, Veronica." Then quickly turned my head away.

Veronica has had this weird crush on me since the beginning of the year. I guess she is sort of pretty, with long curly brown hair and big brown eyes. But she spends too much time texting in class and she wears too much make up. Plus, I have to say; she seems like a bit slow. I really don't know why she was interested in me, because I'm not exactly good-looking; I'm tall and slim, but not real athletic, with honey blonde hair that touches my shoulders, grey eyes, and big feet that make me clumsy.

Anyway, luckily next Mr. Crop (the teacher) provided a distraction by telling us to pair up and practice our flash cards. I immediately caught the eye of my best friend, Emily Long.

Emily and I have been friends since 2nd grade, mostly because we understand each other. Emily and I are both pretty good students, but we suffer from ADHD and dyslexia so it's hard to sit through class like a normal kid. She is an inch or two shorter than me, has long wavy dark blonde hair, and large grey eyes. Grey eyes just like mine. People have always mistaken us for brother and sister because of our eyes; it's actually kind of creepy.

I walked over to her desk and had just opened my mouth when Emily asked, "Do you wanna be partners?"

I grinned at her and said, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

We got out the flash cards and speed through them and soon were done, while the rest of the class was still working. Mr. Crop came over with an amused expression on his face said, "I suppose you two are done already?"

We grinned and answered, "Yes Mr. Crop!"

Mr. Crop shook his head and muttered something about us two getting the work done faster than him as he walked away.

"So, you exited for summer?" Emily asked.

"Hell yeah!" I exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. " And we don't have to wait long, either!"

Emily threw back her head and sang, "This afternoon!"

I laughed and said, "Good bye 6th grade! No more homework!"

We both cheered at that. Then Emily, a little more serious, said, "I'll see you over the summer, right?"

"What?" I asked, smiling teasingly. "Are you going to miss my handsome face?"

I laughed as she rolled her eyes and slapped me lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah right, bighead!" she answered, a smile creeping onto her face nonetheless.

I smirked and poked her in the ribs in return.

Emily scooted away from me slightly and went back to our earlier conversation. "How much do you get around New York?"

I had lived in New York City my whole life, and I loved it here. The sounds, the sights, even the smell made me smile. I probably knew the city better that any other 12-year-old.

"As much as I want." I answered, my smile fading and my tone turning bitter. "Joe doesn't care about me, and Lucy is always at work."

I was referring to my foster parents, Joe and Lucy Heinburg. They took me in when I was 9 years old and I have lived with them ever since, but I would never call them my family. Joe is at home most of the time, but he is always glued to the computer or the television and hardly even looks at me. Lucy tries to be a good "mom", but she doesn't do well with kids and usually ends up yelling at me. To them I'm just a waste of space. I mostly do things on my own.

"Has it gotten any better?" Emily asked, pity in her eyes. She is always worried about my situation at home, and to be honest, I can't stand it when people worry about me. It makes me feel weak, like I need someone to take care of me. And I do _not_ need anyone to take care of me. I'm just fine on my own.

"No." I said, sighing and brushing my long hair out of my eyes. "Yesterday I got in a big fight with Joe because I wasn't home on time. He hates it when I'm late for dinner."

"I'm sorry." Emily said quietly. She is a nice person, and a good friend to me. Changing the subject she said quickly, "Why don't we hang out tonight, to celebrate the end of school? We can go to a movie, or something."

"Sure." I said, my smile a little strained. "That would be great."

Just then, Mr. Crop called the class to order and Emily and I went back to our desks. Mr. Crop was droning on about decimals, or something, so I tuned him out and daydreamed about the end of school. Only three more classes!

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Three…two…one! The bell rang, signaling the end of the school year and I whooped and cheered along with everyone else. I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door, fighting against the crowd of middle school students to the busses. I met Emily in the hallway and we were about to board the bus, when I realized that I had left my history book in my locker. I thought about leaving it there, but I knew that would earn me a talking to from Lucy, so I told Emily to save me a seat and I ran back down the hall.

The 6th grade lockers were in the basement of the school, so I leapt down the stairs and jogged to my locker. I had just gotten my book and was about to head back up the stairs when a voice from the other end of the hallway said, "Hi there Tristan!"

I forced back a groan and plastered a smile onto my face as I turned around and called back, "Hi Veronica."

She was coming toward me and smiling alluringly. She said, "I've been waiting for some time alone with you, Tristan." She was about ten feet away from me, and getting closer all the time.

A warning bell went off inside my head and I thought; _what does she want with me?_

"I'm onto you half-blood. You can't hide anymore." Veronica told me, smiling mockingly. Then she added, in a menacing tone, "And I'm hungry."

Okay, now I was really confused. "Half-blood?" I asked, and I thought at the same time, a little nervously, _she's hungry? _

Veronica laughed softly, now only 3 feet away from me. "Do you really think you can fool me?" She asked, and laughed again.

Then the most bizarre thing happened.

One moment, there was a pretty girl in front of me. The next, she started to change; Veronica's skin grew pale white, her fingers grew sharp talons, her hair burst into flames, and her eyes, her eyes were bright blood red.

I had never been so scared in my life, and I stood paralyzed. Then, finally, I came to my senses and turned around and ran for the stairs. I heard Veronica laughing behind me, and the sound was getting closer. At the last moment, when I knew she was right on top of me, I threw myself aside. The demon's claw sliced through the air inches from my face and I gave a strangled yell as I hit the ground.

Veronica whipped around and was bearing down on me again, but I had desperately swung my backpack, still over my shoulder, and it hit her with a _clunk! _I guess the history book was good for something, after all.

While my attacker was off balance, I sprang up and sprinted for the stairs again. But Veronica was faster than me and just as I got to the bottom of the stairs, she came up from behind and slammed me against a wall. I let out a moan of pain as my head cracked against the wall, but soon realized a greater pain; the demon's claw had sliced open my left forearm and it was bleeding freely.

My arm hurt, bad. I bit my lip and forced back tears; I wasn't going to cry in front of this monster.

Veronica walked over to me slowly, knowing that I was down and enjoying my pain. It was only then that I noticed that her legs were strangely uneven; one leg was covered with shaggy brown fur, and the other looked like it was made out of bronze.

She stopped in front of me and shook her head, smiling again. "You were lucky, godling." She said, not even breathing hard. "But enough fun and games. You can't begin to imagine what you are about to go through. I will kill you slowly, so you can pay for your resistance. I will suck your blood, and it will taste so good, because I have waited so long for it. I thought you had promise, Tristan. I thought that you would be a fine man. But not anymore, for you die now. Good-bye, half-blood."

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. But then I heard a voice shout, "Over here, demon!" My eyes snapped open. Emily!

I looked up to see my best friend standing at the top of the stairs, holding, strangely, a bronze sword.

Veronica whipped around when she heard Emily's voice and she hissed in rage, "No!"

Emily leaped down the last few stairs and landed in front of Veronica. "Yes." She answered quietly.

Veronica howled in fury and swiped at Emily's face with her claws and I cried out, thinking that Emily was done for. But Emily swiftly dodged the attack and stabbed her sword at the demon's chest.

Veronica never had a chance.

The bronze sword passed cleanly through her like she was made of water, and Veronica screamed as she was run through.

Just before she died, Veronica turned to glare at me with those hideous red eyes with a look of pure hatred. Then she seemed to explode into a million particles of dust, yellow dust, and then those melted away.

Emily, breathing hard, fished something out of her pocket and touched it to the end of her sword. Then, suddenly, she wasn't holding a bronze sword anymore; she was holding a pink hand-held pencil sharpener. She stuffed the pencil sharpener back into her pocket and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.

It took several seconds for my brain to register what had happened. Veronica was dead. There was no more danger. But I started shaking, overwhelmed by what had happened.

Emily rushed over to where I sat and asked anxiously, "What happened? Are you all right? Did she hurt you? Can you at least _talk _to me?"

I was having trouble focusing on Emily; my arm hurt so much. I managed to get out, "Arm hurts." Though, and Emily quickly looked down and immediately started apologizing. "I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner, Tristan! I was wondering what was taking you so long and I was coming down to see, when I heard you yell. I should have seen her for what she was sooner. I'm so, so sorry!"

Emily looked close to tears at this point, so I quickly said, "S'okay Em. But can you do somethin' 'bout my arm?" I was still a little groggy from that hit on the head I got, and was most likely in shock too.

"Of course!" Emily exclaimed, hastily swiping at her eyes and looking around. She spotted my backpack, now in tatters from the demon's claws, and went over and ripped a strip of material off. "Here," she said, wrapping the cloth around my wounded arm. "This will stop the bleeding. You can come to my house and I'll fix you up properly."

She pulled me to my feet and let me lean on her for support as we climbed the stairs. As soon as we got to the top of the stairs, I stopped Emily and said, "Okay, wait just a minute." I looked Emily right in the eye and asked, "What the hell was going on back there? First I'm attacked by Veronica, which was weird enough, but then you come charging in with a sword and kill the thing like it was no big deal! Talk to me, here!"

Emily bit her lip, looked at me for a second, and then nodded. "Okay." She said. "I'll tell you on the way to my house."

I nodded, satisfied. I just wanted to know what had really happened. Was it all just a hallucination? As much as I liked that thought, the pain in my arm told me otherwise. And also, why? Why had Veronica attacked _me_? Somehow, I knew that it wasn't just a coincidence.

Emily helped me to the nearest bus stop and we caught the bus that was just leaving. Unfortunately, it was packed, and as soon as I got on with my bloodstained arm, people stared at me. A couple of people even asked if they could help. I politely declined, and Emily and I took seats at the back of the bus.

As soon as the bus pulled away from the stop, I turned to Emily and said, "You've got some explaining to do."


	2. Questions and Revelations

Chapter 2: Questions and Revelations

I waited patiently as Emily collected her thoughts and tried to ignore the stinging in my left arm. Our school was in Brooklyn and we both lived in Manhattan, so we had a good 15 to 20 minute drive ahead of us, especially at this time of day. The bus drove along, jostling us around as Emily rubbed her forehead with a frown on her face.

"Okay," she sighed finally. "This may sound crazy, but what I'm about to tell you is true. Just… keep an open mind and hear me out. Trust me, it took me some getting used to, too."

"Are we both crazy then?" I asked with a feeble attempt at a smile.

Emily gave me a weak smile back, took a deep breath and said, "Do you know the Greek gods that we studied in history this year?"

"Like Zeus and Hermes and Apollo?" I asked, curious to see where this was going.

Emily winced slightly and nervously glanced around as if she expected one of the other passengers to attack us, or something. "Yeah, those guys." She said quietly. She took a deep breath and announced, "Well, they were real. In fact they still are, they're alive in the 21st century."

That took a few seconds to process, and when I realized what she meant, all I could say was, "Huh?"

"The Greek gods are alive and living in New York." Emily repeated slowly.

"I heard what you said." I said, looking at her carefully, to see if she was playing some kind of joke on me. But it didn't seem that way; Emily's eyes were dead serious.

"This is not a trick, I swear! Just listen and try to believe me, okay?" Emily asked, a little desperation in her voice.

Emily had never lied to me before, and I had no reason to mistrust her, so I nodded and let her tell her story.

"Well," Emily began. "A long time ago, people still believed in the gods, but when the Roman Empire fell, the culture was lost. But the gods lived on, moving with the western civilization."

I gave Emily a quizzical look as she said this and asked, "The western civilization?"

"Yes," she replied. "The western civilization is an actual force that moves from country to country. The gods are part of that force, or you could say the center of it. As long as the western civilization is alive, so are the gods.

"So the gods never really disappeared. They simply moved. But other cultures didn't support them, so they became less and less known, until they almost vanished. Meanwhile the western civilization moved around Europe, and then in the last couple of centuries it has been here, in the United States of America."

"So you're saying that the Greek gods are here in America _right now?_" I asked, in disbelief.

"Yes." Emily answered. She looked a little nervous as she brushed her blond hair out of her face and waited for my answer.

Instead I asked another question. "But how does that relate to Veronica?"

"Ah." Emily said. "The gods weren't the only being in myths, were they?"

I racked my brain for a moment, and then it hit me. "Monsters."

Emily nodded in approval. "In the myths, the gods and heroes fought monsters, and they lived on too."

"But how?" I asked, genuinely curious now. "Didn't they die, like a million years ago or something?"

Emily shook her head. "When another person kills a mythical monster, it doesn't really die; it goes down to the underworld and sort of regenerates."

I scrunched my face up and said, "Yuck."

One side of Emily's mouth pulled up into a half smile. "Yuck." She agreed.

"So what _exactly_ was Veronica?" I asked, shuddering involuntarily as I saw her flaming hair, red eyes, and pale white skin in my mind's eye. "A vampire?" I guessed.

Emily shook her head, pressing her lips together and studying me. "Veronica was an empusa. It's kind of like a vampire, I guess, because empuses drink the blood of their victims too."

My stomach churned as I realized that if Emily hadn't showed up, Veronica would have done that to me.

"I've never-" my voice was unnaturally high; embarrassed I cleared my throat and tried again. "I've never heard of that kind of monster before." Whew, better.

Emily didn't seem to have noticed my momentary stumble. She nodded and said, "It's not one of the common myths, but the empuses are the daughters of Hecate and Mormo, the spirit."

"You seem to know a lot about this kind of thing." I noted. I had been a little startled when she had used the present tense to describe Hecate and Mormo, and I was wondering if Emily was just telling me this as a joke.

Emily's mouth twisted into a grimace as she said, "Yeah, I guess I do."

Just then, the bus drove over a bump and it threw my arm against the seat in front of me. I winced and pressed my lips together to stop a moan of pain from escaping.

Emily noticed and her forehead creased in worry. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Is your arm hurting?"

"Not really." I lied giving her what I hoped was a pain-free smile. "I'm a tough guy, remember?"

Emily cracked a little smile and said, "Okay, but if it starts hurting badly, let me know."

I steered the conversation away from me by asking what I thought might be the most pressing question, "So where do you come into all this? Are you a monster too?"

Emily laughed and said, "No, Tristan, I'm not a monster. I promise."

"But what _are_ you then, Emily?" I asked, no longer teasing. "I mean, you look normal, but you had a _sword_-"

I was cut off by the squealing of the brakes as the bus rolled to a stop. Emily said in a low tone, "I'll tell you when we get inside." And she motioned for me to stand up.

I realized that we were at the right stop, and quickly got up and walked to the front of the bus. But on the way down the stairs, I tripped, as expected, and went tumbling onto the sidewalk. I winced as the motion jarred my arm and quickly scrambled to my feet.

Emily helped me up and we walked quickly to the condo that she shared with her dad. We climbed up to the 2nd level, where Emily's condo was and she fished a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. "I'm home!" Emily called as she shut the door behind us.

Emily's dad, Scott Long, walked into view, grinning as he embraced Emily and kissed her hair. Emily looks amazingly like Scott, except for her hair and her eyes; Scott's hair is light brown and wildly curly while Emily's hair is dark blond and slightly wavy, and Scott's eyes are brown while Emily's eyes are grey. Other than that, Emily is a spitting image of her father.

As I watched Emily in the arms of her father, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously. I hadn't had a real family since I was 4 years old, and sometimes I couldn't help but wonder what my life would have been like if things had gone differently.

Emily looked up at her father and said, "Dad, we had a little trouble after school today."

"What kind of trouble, honey?" Scott asked, his brow crinkling in concern.

Before Emily could answer, I blurted out, "Are Greek Gods real, Scott?" I quickly shut my mouth, embarrassed. _**So**__ ADHD,_ I thought.

But understanding dawned on Scott's face and he turned to Emily and said, "So, it was that kind of trouble."

Emily sighed and nodded. She shot a quick glance at me, and then hastily whispered something in Scott's ear.

Scott looked up at me, his face sympathetic, and murmured, as if to himself, "He knows."

I assumed that he was talking about the Greek gods thing, so I nodded and, with a smile, said, "I never would have guessed. Gods and monsters, eh?"

Emily quickly turned to her father and murmured something else in his ear, but this time I caught it; she said, "I haven't told him _that_ part yet."

Scott nodded and turned back to me. I tried to act as if I hadn't heard Emily, but I couldn't help but think, _is there __**more**__?_

Scott asked, with a worried look on his face, "Did either of you get hurt?"

I hurriedly nodded and held out my arm for examination. Scott pealed the torn strips of my former backpack covering my wound, and winced in sympathy when he saw my injury. "Lets get you cleaned up, okay?" he asked. I nodded, and Emily led me into the bathroom.

While Scott cleaned my arm, Emily leaned on the counter next to me and chewed her lip, staring at me. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision. Emily took a deep breath and asked, "Do you remember, on the bus, when you asked me what my connection to all this is?"

I nodded, trying to focus on Emily instead of Scott.

Emily twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers, procrastinating answering the question. She took another deep breath and stole a glance at Scott before turning back to me and looking me straight in the eye. "What else do you remember about the myths, Tristan?"

I thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, they were all about heroes, weren't they? The heroes went around killing monsters, right?"

Emily nodded and said, "Exactly. Well, the heroes are still around too. They're the sons and daughters of the gods. A hero is born when a god and a mortal fall in love and have a kid." Emily chewed her lip, eying me carefully.

I used the hand that wasn't being worked on by Scott to push my long hair out of my face as I thought. Emily had known about Victoria, she had a _sword_, and her father seemed to know all about this…

Suddenly it hit me like a brick wall, and my eyes widened and I sucked in a deep breath, staring at Emily. My idea sounded so crazy, insane, impossible…. Yet it was the only answer, after all that Emily had told me, that made sense.

"You're a half-god, aren't you?" I asked Emily with wide eyes.

Her eyes studied me, scrutinizing my expression. Then Emily said slowly, "Yes, Tristan, I am. My mother is the goddess Athena."

I was so shocked by the revelation that I couldn't speak for several seconds, in which time Scott finished bandaging my left arm and said, "Well, there you go, Tristan. All fixed up."

I managed to mumble a quick thank you before Emily pulled me off the counter and steered me into the living room, while I followed obediently, still reeling.

She motioned for me to take a seat on the couch and then sat herself in a chair and waited for me to speak. I could tell that she was worried about my opinion, so I quickly said, "Your godliness doesn't change our friendship, so you don't need to worry about that; I'm kind of in the whole _my entire perspective on the world just changed_ state right now."

Emily laughed and said, "Yeah, I know that feeling. But I just want to clear one thing up; I am _not_ a goddess. We usually call ourselves half bloods, actually. Because, you know, we're half-human half-god."

"Huh." I muttered, pondering what she had just said. Then I realized something; "Wait a minute," I exclaimed. "You said _we_. Are there more half bloods?"

"Yes," Emily said. "There is in fact a special summer camp where half bloods can go, which is what I wanted to talk to you about. Will you come with me this summer?"

I was startled by her question and immediately answered, "But I'm not a half god, I couldn't go."

Emily just sat there, staring at me like I wasn't getting something important. I stared back at her uncomprehendingly. Then realization dawned on me and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I couldn't _believe_ that, after all that had happened today, I had to have this dropped on me too.

In a slightly strangled voice, I asked, "When Veronica was attacking me, she kept calling me 'half blood' and 'godling'. Does this mean I'm a… a half god?"

With a look of almost pity, Emily said slowly, "Yes Tristan, I've suspected it for a while; you have ADHD and dyslexia, which, together, is an almost sure sign of a half blood. Also, you've told me about strange, unexplainable things that have happened to you; you've been attacked by monsters before."

A dozen memories flashed through my mind, of all the bizarre, creepy things that had happened to me; when I was seven years old, my second grade teacher trapping me in the classroom, then transforming into a shriveled hag with wings and how I had thrown a pair of safety scissors at her to make her "go away"; the strange "horses" that I had spotted outside of New York, which seemed to have the upper bodies of men; the bus driver in fourth grade who I could have sworn had ram's horns. And my dad, always telling me that I was special, more special than all the other kids.

I sat frozen in my seat, held down by comprehension, all of the events in my life suddenly making sense. Then the big question came to mind; "But who, then," I whispered to no one in particular, "is my mother?"

Emily, thinking the question was for her, answered, "That _is_ a mystery, Tristan. Did your father never tell you who it is?"

Suddenly, I was angry with my father. "No," I said through gritted teeth. "He didn't tell me. He never even told me what I am."

Emily stared at me looking slightly puzzled. "You actually believe me?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat. "I expected you to accuse me of lying, or just dismiss all this."

I shook my head sadly. "No," I sighed. "I know facts when I see them, and this explains a lot. I'm not sure if I like it, but I know that it's true."

Emily sank back into her chair, looking relieved. Then she said, "Back to my original question: will you come to Camp with me? I really think you would like it there."

I pressed my lips together, and then asked, "Why should I go, Emily? What would there be for me there?"

"For one thing, you would be completely safe from monsters, because the borders of the camp are protected." She answered quickly. "Also, you can train to defend yourself. That's the whole point of the camp, to practice killing monsters."

That definitely appealed to me. I didn't want to be helpless anymore. I knew that if Emily hadn't shown up and taken care of Veronica, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. "Would Joe and Lucy have to pay for it? You know that they would never do that."

Emily shook her head quickly, saying, "No, the camp is completely free. Also, you can stay all the time if you want to; you could leave the Heinburgs."

I bolted upright in my chair, excitement flooding through me; hardy daring to believe it was true. "Really?" I exclaimed, grinning. "I could leave?"

Emily smiled at my happiness and answered, "Absolutely. We could go get your stuff from their place right now and be at camp in an hour."

I jumped up immediately and exclaimed, "Let's move then!" I'm not sure if that was the best choice to make, but everything that Emily had told me so far sounded all right, and I'm impulsive.

Emily grinned and stood up as well. "Off to camp we go!"


End file.
